A Little Bit of Light
by autumn midnights
Summary: Andromeda reflects during Remus and Tonks's wedding - on their love, her own marriage, and the fact that her daughter is no longer a little girl. RemusTonks and AndromedaTed romance, as well as Andromeda&Nymphadora family-ness. Canon, set right before Deathly Hallows. Rated K plus for two minor swears.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_First and foremost, this is written for Rochelle (slightlysmall), for the Gift-Giving Extravaganza 2013. I sincerely hope you enjoy this take on RemusTonks! I used your prompt 'annoyed' as well as the pairing, and I hope you don't mind about the amount of Andromeda in here!_

_This is also being submitted to the Greenhouses Competition (Stargazer - write about a Slytherin), the Gemstone Competition (Emerald - write about a Slytherin), the Dark Side Competition (Salazar Slytherin's Locket - write about a Slytherin), Hogwarts Classes Category Competition (Potions - write about a Slytherin), the Colors Competition (Silver, negative - write about a Slytherin), and the Fanfiction Wizard Tournament (Round One - write about one of the Blacks. I used the quote prompt and the 'slapped in the face' prompt._**_)._**

* * *

"Mum? How do I look?"

Nymphadora stepped out of the bedroom and into the corridor where Andromeda was standing, waiting for her. She had been in the bedroom for a long time, probably just looking at herself in the mirror, trying on different appearances, but Andromeda didn't mind. It was her daughter's wedding day; she had the freedom to take a while, if she wanted to. Andromeda didn't want to rush her; she wanted Nymphadora's wedding to be perfect, since her own had been rushed. Andromeda and Ted had been married by Ted's Muggle friend's older brother, in a hurried ceremony that only Sirius and Ted's closest friend had witnessed. She didn't regret marrying Ted - she loved him - but sometimes she regretted the lack of fancy clothes and a reception.

"Mum?" Nymphadora repeated. For once when repeating something, she didn't sound nervous or annoyed. Andromeda snapped back to attention.

"Sorry, darling," she said. "You look absolutely lovely." It was true, and Andromeda wasn't only saying so because of the fact that Nymphadora was her daughter. She did look beautiful, clad in a simple white dress, and happier than Andromeda had seen her in a year. Nymphadora had spent the last year trying - and failing - to accept the idea that Remus didn't return her feelings, and it had caused her great sadness. Now, she looked radiant; her hair was spiky, short, and violently pink. Her Metamorphmagus abilities had returned in full when Remus had finally decided to accept her love. Andromeda wiped a tear from her eye, and nodded to her daughter. "Let's go. Your father's waiting downstairs to walk you out."

"Is Remus -" Nymphadora cut off her own question, as if she refused to doubt the fact that he was there. Andromeda had complied with the age-old tradition of not allowing the groom to see the bride, and had made Remus stay either downstairs or outside while Nymphadora got ready. He was outside now, she was sure, as the house was now silent. She crossed over to the window and peeked outside; Remus stood there, along with the witch who would officiate their marriage, and Hestia Jones, Tonks's closest friend.

The recent anti-werewolf legislature had made it impossible for Remus and Nymphadora to have a proper wedding, but Hestia had been able to find somebody to officiate the wedding anyway. Jia Li worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but when she was younger, she had obtained the legal rights to marry couples. Andromeda wasn't sure exactly how Hestia knew that Jia would be willing to do this, but it didn't matter. As long as Jia would do this and not tell, then Andromeda was perfectly happy with it.

Ted was waiting by the stairs; even his eyes looked a little misty as he saw his daughter come down. Andromeda hurried ahead of them and into her backyard, standing beside Hestia. Remus was up by Jia, waiting for Ted to bring Nymphadora down to him. There was no aisle, but there was a clear path from the door to where Remus and Jia were standing, and after a few moments, the back door opened, and Nymphadora came out, her arm intertwined with her father's. There were tears on her cheeks as well, but she still looked wonderful and blissful; the tears were of joy.

Andromeda felt a surge of happiness in her heart for her daughter as she watched her and Remus together. The two of them were an unlikely couple, for sure - the bookish, reserved werewolf, an ex-professor, and thirteen years older than the bubbly, open young Auror that was Nymphadora Tonks. Even standing together, the differences were clear; Remus was pale and shabby-looking, his dress robes a little too tattered, and Nymphadora beside him with her spiky pink hair. They didn't look like the ideal couple, but Andromeda could see just from watching them how they loved one another. Neither one of them could take their eyes off of the other.

She knew that she was crying as well. This was her daughter - the baby she had held in her arms, the young girl that she had watched run around the house with multi-color hair, the teenage girl who simultaneously wanted to raise hell and become an Auror, and the young woman who had joined the Order of the Phoenix. Nymphadora Tonks - becoming Nymphadora Lupin - was no longer a baby, no longer Andromeda's little girl.

Andromeda glanced over at her own husband. They had been married for over twenty-five years now, had been through so much together. Andromeda still remembered - as clear as though it was yesterday - the night that she had Apparated to his house because she had officially run away from her family. Her cheek had stung, she remembered, from being slapped in the face by Bellatrix, and her trunk was overflowing with hastily-thrown-in items. She had come to him, and he had accepted her with open arms; it had been right after that when he proposed, and she had said yes. They had been much too young, but they had been reckless and in love, and it had ended up working.

She hoped the same would be true for her daughter. She hoped that in twenty-five years, Nymphadora would look at Remus and still love him, the way Andromeda still loved Tonks. She deserved that much; she deserved that sort of love. She would make a wonderful wife, and - if she ended up with children - a wonderful mother and grandmother.

The timing wasn't ideal. If Andromeda could change anything, she would simply delete the war. Nymphadora and Remus would be happier and safer without it; they would have been able to date each other for a while, would have been able to have a true ceremony with all their friends and coworkers, wouldn't have had to hide. The war was the only problem with the situation, but it also added another dimension. The wedding of Nymphadora and Remus provided light in the midst of a terrible, dark time. Andromeda knew that she would have been moping around the house, worrying, but the wedding lifted her up, providing light in what may have been her darkest moments yet.

And she looked at Nymphadora and Remus, and saw how they loved one another, and she cried more tears of joy. The world all around them was going to hell, but in the midst of all that darkness, there was - at least - a little bit of light.

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_It's my headcanon that Hestia and Tonks were close, and although we know the ceremony was small, it's not mentioned in canon that Tonks's parents were the only people there. Therefore, I let Hestia attend as well._

_Jia Li, the officiator here, is the mother of Su Li, a Ravenclaw in Harry's year. _

_I am aware that Nymphadora Tonks goes by 'Tonks' almost all the time in canon. However, this is from Andromeda's PoV, and since she's the one who chose the name 'Nymphadora', I can assume that that's how she would think of her daughter in her mind. _


End file.
